Jake's Takes | Colts vs. Titans: Opportunity Squandered, Season in Jeopardy

Sunday was served up on a silver platter for the Indianapolis Colts.

They came into the game the healthiest they've been all year. They had momentum after winning three of the last four games. They held a 14-0 lead before the first quarter was even halfway through.

However, those conditions weren't advantageous enough for the Colts (3-5) as they dropped a critical AFC South matchup to the division-leading Tennessee Titans (6-2) in overtime, 34-31.

After a boneheaded interception by the Colts inside their own territory, Titans kicker Randy Bullock mercifully put them out of their misery with a 44-yard field goal to end the game.

The Colts' season is now in jeopardy as they sit two games below .500, three games behind the leader in the division, and with games remaining against the Buffalo Bills (5-2), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1), and Arizona Cardinals (7-1).

Here are some of my main observations from the game.

Carson Wentz Wins 'What the Hell?' Award

With the game tied at 24 and with 1:33 remaining, the Colts began a drive at their own 8-yard line. Colts quarterback Caron Wentz took the snap out of shotgun and backed up into his own end zone. He quickly felt pressure, pivoted and while beginning to get wrapped up, tossed the ball with his left hand. The ball floated purposeless until it was snagged out of the air by Titans defender Elijah Molden, who entered the Colts' end zone for the late score to put Tennessee up, 31-24.

It turns out that if the drive was going to be a failure and yield points to Tennessee anyways, then that quick pick-six was a better result than a safety or long drive. The Titans scored their points in about two seconds, giving the Colts plenty of time to tie the game, which they wound up doing on their following drive.

Wentz would later throw another egregious interception inside Colts territory in overtime, which could also compete for a "What the Hell?" award.

After the game, Colts head coach Frank Reich shouldered the blame for the interception-touchdown, questioning his play call that put Wentz in that situation to begin with.

Same Issues Plague Pass Defense

The Colts' pass defense hasn't seemed to put together a complete, 60-minute effort this season, and the same issues cropped up against Tennessee as they have throughout the year. Between an often anemic pass rush, tight ends eating the middle of the field, and providing too much space for receivers who are killing them, the same things continue to be areas for improvement.

Through three quarters, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had been sacked just once and routinely had plenty of time to throw. Their tight end group was productive and timely in clutch situations, especially over the middle of the Colts' defense, pulling in 7 receptions for 53 yards and 1 touchdown. The dominating factor in Tennessee's passing game, though, was wide receiver A.J. Brown, who caught 10 balls for 155 yards and 1 touchdown. He appeared to consistently have room to work and made the Colts pay for it.

Wentz-to-Pittman is a Thing

It wasn't all bad for the Colts. Shoot, they should've won the game. One of the biggest bright spots was the connection between Wentz and second-year wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

The pair hooked up 10 receptions and 86 yards, including 2 quick touchdowns to start the day. They also had this huge play on 3rd-and-16 with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Not done yet.

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/1zsz5jvMz2
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 31, 2021

Overall, Wentz targeted Pittman 15 times, and if not for a couple of passes that Pittman appeared to lose in the sun, they may have had an even more productive day.

Pittman is far and away the Colts' top pass target, and with T.Y. Hilton suffering a concussion, Pittman may continue to see a large volume of the Colts' passes. The offense could really use some help at the position with the impending NFL trade deadline this Tuesday afternoon, however, considering the injury to Hilton as well as Parris Campbell's two weeks earlier.

Nobody Does DPI Like the Colts

The Colts continue to take staggering advantage of defensive pass interference calls in their favor. They're legitimate calls but it's become a huge part of any offensive success they've had the last couple of games especially. You obviously can't count on that going into a game but the Titans were penalized for three DPIs for 95 yards. The Colts scored on each drive featuring a call, amassing 17 points total on those drives.

Just about every time the Colts have gotten a DPI in their favor recently, it's been on a deep pass from Wentz, who has underthrown it so the defender mugs the intended receiver as they adjust for the ball. At this point, is it something they intentionally try to achieve?

Of course, you have more opportunities to get pass interference calls when you throw the ball 51 times compared to running it just 16 times with your star running back.

Defense Accepted Challenge of Derrick Henry

Titans running back Derrick Henry entered the game with a league-leading 869 rushing yards, just 131 away from reaching 1,000 on the season. He's notoriously the toughest running back in the league to defend given his blend of size, speed, and power. However, the Colts defense, from linemen to linebackers to cornerbacks and safeties, accepted the challenge.

Tennessee sure tried but they could not get Henry going. He carried the ball 28 times for just 68 yards (2.4 avg.), which is a far cry from what he routinely does to the Colts defense. Henry has five 100-yard games against the Colts in his career, but Sunday's performance was his lowest output against them since Week 11 of 2018.

What were your biggest takeaways from Sunday? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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